Hi, and welcome. Unless the system for getting the pictures by the names (avatars) has changed......what you should do is e mail the picture you want to use to avatars@preeclampsia.org and then one of the administrators will load it up for you when they have a moment. Looking forward to seeing yours! [:)]

I'm a 2 time PE mom, and my youngest had the PDA as well (closed with medication). Glad to hear that it sounds like Avery's is resolving! We'll keep our fingers crossed for that.

Thanks! We've had mixed responses on the name...from family mostly. Guess that's why we didn't tell anyone her name until she was born! ;-) DH didn't have the patience to listen to me list off names, so I made a list of 25 girls names. Some I loved, some I liked, and a few I could live with. I gave him the list and told him to circle the names he liked. He only liked 3 of the names!!!! Fortunately one was Avery, which was my 1st or 2nd choice (depending on the day). Her middle name (Ann) is after my great-grandmother whom I was very close to. We couldn't come up with any boys names we agreed on, but that turned out ok after we found out baby was a girl!

Question...how do you include a photo with your profile? I see a lot of the members have photos up.

My daughter Grace had PDA, and she was my big 3 pound baby! ;) She was able to take some medication which closed her PDA. I was relieved about that.

Meghan's PDA was heard several times, but hers closed on its own. We had a really good pal in the NICU (from being there so long) who's son needed the surgery. He had the surgery while he was still in the NICU. From what the doctor told me in 2002, the surgery is relatively simple, but like any surgery has some possible complications.

Is Avery's PDS flapping (meaning opening and closing)? Meghan's did that too, but like I said corrected itself.

Good to hear from you! I live and used to work on the West side. My employer has been very gracious in allowing me to return when I am able to...no strings attached. My husband works on the west side too. I was planning on returning to work shortly after Avery's birth, but I was only working part-time while I was pregnant, and we were told Avery can't go to daycare until she's much bigger and stronger, and it doesn't pay to have someone come to our house to watch her, and of course, no family nearby...so I'm at home. I'm a VERY social person, so it's been quite a drastic life-style change for me.

My pre-e symptoms came on really fast, other than the BP, which was still within normal ranges even though it was creeping up. It basically all happened in one day and then they tried to keep us stable long enough to get steriod shots in me. It's so surreal...like it was a scary dream. I'm glad you were able to get on bedrest and stick it out for a while. It's amazing how even a few days in utero helps the baby!

Avery just developed a lot of reflux. I'm going to mention it to the doc. tomorrow. It's been really awful for her the last week or two. How do theyt determine whether it's normal reflux or something that needs to be treated?

Kara

I'm really excited to meet everyone at the meeting that's coming up soon.

Hi Kara,
I'm Tina & it is nice to have another person from the WI area to talk with.
I live in Edgerton (which is about 30 minutes south of Madison) and work on the East-side of Madison. Both hubby & I work in the Madison area while my parents watch Wyatt for us.
I would have liked to be a SAHM but I carry the health insurance for the family so it isn't possible for us at this time.
Wyatt was born: 9/19/05 at 37 wks. due to a mild case of PE. I didn't have the slightest clue what that was,until my ob/gyn admitted me into the hospital on my "regular" checkups. She too found protein in my urine & bp was up. I was put on bedrest (at home thank goodness) & made weekly checkups to monitor the baby's heartrate. The one thing I found stressful with having PE was the severe swollen feet, legs, & hands. I tried to work up until I had Wyatt but my doctor said: No Way, not in the condition I was int was hard to move around, let alone grasp anything with my hands. I feel for those who have had PE much worse than I did. It is not fun by all means!
Wyatt is a pretty healthy little boy though (except for the gastric reflux) & I'm truly thankful everyday for that!!!!
Nice meeting you & I too look forward to seeing you in FEB.[:)]

Thanks for the warm welcome ladies! I'd be happy to attend the february meeting! Jen, thanks for your story...it's relieving to hear from others in the same situation! I was seeing the UW Midwives, they started preparing (and I use that word loosely) meofor pre-e when my bp started creeping up. Don't get me wrong, the Midwives are a wonderful group, but they didn't really tell me wht might really happen....probably because they didn't want to scare me into hysterics. They did tell me all the warning signs to watch for..which is what saved us.

We just moved to Madison this summer from Chicago, but we're enjoying it so far! Of course the move makes the pre-e experience worse because we're far from all of our friends. My husbands family lives in the Sheboygan area, but my family is scattered, so it's mostly just us. Transitioning to the stay at home mom role has been tough too.

Anyone have any experience with PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus)? Avery has a loud murmur caused by PDA that hasn't closed. It's not causing her any side effects (like breathing problems, etc.) The plan is to monitor it until it closes on it's own. If it doesn't close by 2 yrs it will have to be closed by the cardiologist.
Kara